Camp NaNOTMo

So Camp NaNo just hasn’t been going so well. At all. I’ve just got so much going on right now that I’ve not made any progress at all. Between the house, my Evil Day Project (now in phase 3, sob, will we ever be done?), and all my RT scrambling, I’ve blown it.

On the bright side, I’ve used up one whole box of 250 business cards making book thongs. I’ve mailed off some and given several away to my hairdresser, and of course we had a few boo-boos (holes punched too close to edge), so I don’t have exactly 250 book thongs, but I’m happy with how many I’ve managed to make.

Some interesting realizations while making all of these thongs:

1. 200 crimpers seems like a lot. Until you realize it takes 4 per thong + all the ones that you drop and can’t find in the carpet. (Those suckers are SMALL.)

2. It’d be a lot easier to store these thongs if I made them the same length. But I just hack off another length – roughly – and move on.

3. Because I like each one to be as unique as possible. Even if that’s more work on my part. Sound familiar? I just don’t like cookie-cutter approaches to anything.

4. I finally have a system down, using a single strand of black hemp or cotton, crimp the end, add a small bead, which holds the business card on the end, a charm, followed by a large bead and a couple of small ones depending on my mood. A crimper to hold them in place. Then a crimper, whatever small beads I want to add, maybe another charm, and a final crimper on the opposite end.

5. The silk ribbon was a huge pain in the ass because I didn’t have the right beads. Tiny holes = huge headache, even with slender silk ribbon. Much easier for large-hole lampwork or pony beads.

I’ve just about used up all my handcuffs and keys. I have maybe 50 or so masks left. I guess I’ll either be done at that point…